


Couple Time

by Marie_Tomas



Series: Bedtime [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Affection, Affectionate Dean, Brotherly Love, Commitment, Cuddling & Snuggling, Date Night, Declarations Of Love, Established Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hoodies, M/M, POV Sam Winchester, Romance, Sam Loves Health Food, Sam Winchester Loves Dean Winchester, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 13:44:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5499188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Tomas/pseuds/Marie_Tomas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A couple of months after admitting to their not-so-brotherly feelings while taking a little 'We Time' at a hotel, Sam and Dean take a night off from hunting to relax, cuddle and watch movies in their latest motel room.</p><p>Sam calls it 'Couple Time', Dean's kind of too embarrassed to call it anything, but Sam can't help feeling happy about this new side to their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Couple Time

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally intended for the previous chapter to be the final one, but I thought that it might be nice to show what happened in the months after Sam and Dean's first night as a couple when they were on vacation. I hope you like it! :-)

Sam smirked to himself as he pulled on Dean's hoodie and he glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

The dark, almost black item of clothing might have looked a little short on Sam, but, he decided as he looked in the mirror again, there was something about it that definitely suited him; and anyway, anything of Dean's was the perfect fit on Sam.

He really couldn't help it-the whole smiling thing-because the hoodie was soft and warm (which was always an advantage when it was cold outside and their motel rooms never seemed to be warm enough) and it smelled just like Dean; its scent reminded Sam of home.

Sure, they'd shared clothes like this for years, and there was still something about wearing an item of clothing of Dean's that reminded Sam of being a kid; it made him feel safe and secure and like his big brother was somewhere close by, and it was true that Sam often wore Dean's clothes when they were apart, when they had to separate for hunter-based reasons, or the rare times when they were sleeping in separate motel rooms.

Yet something felt… _different_ about wearing Dean's clothes now, and that feeling made Sam smirk even more. He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why wearing one of Dean's favourite hoodies suddenly made him feel extra happy, but he was sure that he now totally got the reason why all of the chicks at high school and college used to make such a big deal out of wearing their boyfriends' shirts.

He grinned all over again when the he heard the sound of the motel room door opening, indicating Dean's return.

It was difficult _not_ to grin when Dean had given him plenty of reasons to smile over the past couple of months, ever since their 'We Time' officially got started back at the hotel, when they admitted their not-so-brotherly feelings on the hotel bed, followed by naked cuddling which then led to them trying stuff that was a lot less innocent than cuddling.

From that night on, Sam had felt surprisingly happy and content (and he was certain that Dean looked a lot happier recently, too). Not only because he now had the pleasure of practically guaranteed cuddling and affection and sex almost every night (and yeah, even though Sam didn't admit it to Dean too much, Dean's previous lovers definitely weren't exaggerating about his big brother's ability in bed), but also because, from the moment he and Dean shared their first kiss, everything in Sam's life just seemed to make a strange kind of sense; not necessarily in a fairy tale, fate-and-destiny way, but more in a way that finally explained the reason why Sam had always felt like something was missing in all of his previous relationships, even though he loved the idea of being in a relationship so much; why there had always been a strange sense of tension between him and Dean for years, like there was something unspoken between the two of them; why they'd always had this inexplicable desire to stand close to one other, to get in each other's space; why cuddling up in bed with Dean from the start of their bedtime thing had always been so weirdly comfortable; and why they'd always acted so jealous of the other's past relationships.

There was something to be said for finally having the answers to questions that Sam had never been able to put into words. Not to mention that, if he thought that the sex and the affection had been good in previous relationships, it was _nothing_ compared to how it all felt with Dean, especially when their bodies seemed to fit so perfectly together, like they were made for one another.

It wasn't like this new aspect of their bedtime routine had solved all of their problems, though. It had definitely taken time to ease their way into a relationship, and unfortunately, given their line of work and given everything that they had experienced over the years, Sam knew that their lives were never going to be perfect. They still had their difficult hunts and long days on the road, not to mention the exhaustion and all of the inner demons that they were always going to have to fight.

Now, on top of all their usual stress and their typical brotherly and hunter-partner arguments, they also had to add their couple's arguments into the mix, with their main disputes always focusing on their jealousy and their fears that the other would find somebody else: Dean apparently worried that some pretty chick would one day be able to offer Sam a better life and more stability, and this fictional woman would eventually 'steal' Sam away from him; Sam got mad when guys flirted with Dean at bars, fearing that Dean would now be curious to see what it would be like to be with another guy, after taking that first step with Sam.

Still, in spite of everything, it was true that Sam had felt happier over the past two months than he had felt in years, and he was determined to just enjoy every good feeling and every smile from Dean, and he wanted to make the most of their happiness before the next stressful hunt came along.

As the smell of food coming from the main motel room grew stronger, Sam headed out of the bathroom, unable to stop himself from smiling fondly when he caught sight of Dean wearing Sam's white hoodie, which he must have secretly borrowed before he went out on the food run.

He almost wanted to run over and hug Dean (or maybe just back him onto the nearest motel bed) when he thought about how Dean must get the same comfort from wearing something of Sam's, how maybe he liked the scent of Sam in the fabric and maybe he loved it being wrapped around him. He restrained himself though, when he thought about how Dean would roll his eyes at any chick-flick moments, and also because he knew that Dean would already have some kind of lame excuse prepared about how it was cold out and the heater in the motel room wasn't working and Sam's hoodie was just conveniently available, and warm.

However, in spite of all the get-outs and 'no chick-flick moments' Dean would have prepared, everything about the scene in front of Sam still seemed so perfect, with the hoodie not only making Dean look kind of cute and vulnerable, but, given that the colour was an ideal contrast to Sam's, it made the two of them look kind of 'coupley', and it also made them look like the perfect complement to one another, the perfect contrast, balancing each other out.

Dean must have caught Sam staring, because he blushed and ducked his head and mumbled something that sounded a lot like, "Don't you dare say anything, bitch," even though it sort of sounded all fond and affectionate, the way he said it.

"Wouldn't dream of it, jerk," Sam replied with a grin, sitting down at their makeshift table while Dean removed food and drinks from a paper bag.

Strangely, it had been Dean's idea to stay in tonight, promising Sam take-out food and TV and movies and 'touchy-feely crap', even though Sam had insisted that he would be okay with it if Dean wanted to go out and get drunk and maybe hit a couple of clubs to work off the adrenaline from their latest hunts-the sort of stuff that always seemed to help Dean relax and unwind; but Dean had refused, shrugging and telling Sam that he was fine with just staying in.

Dean had been opting to stay in a lot lately, so much so that Sam had taken to dubbing these nights their 'Couple Time', much to Dean's embarrassment, with his older brother still preferring to tell Sam that he was just too tired to go out or joking that these nights-in were more like slumber parties; but Sam couldn't help suspecting that maybe their new status as a kind-of couple had a lot more to do with Dean wanting these little domestic moments in the evening than Dean was willing to admit.

Sam gave one of his typical glares when he noticed all of the junk food that Dean removed from the bag, but his expression softened and he held back on the healthy eating lecture when he saw that Dean had also brought back a salad for Sam, or 'rabbit food' as Dean called it while he pushed the plastic container across the table towards Sam with an expression that looked like disgust.

They mostly ate in silence, with Dean only pausing between mouthfuls of pie to tell Sam a story about an argument at the store with a biker dude with tattoos, which Sam was pretty sure that Dean was exaggerating for his benefit, but at least their silence was a comfortable one, and Sam definitely didn't fail to notice the fact that their legs and feet were brushing together under the table, in a gesture that felt intimate and comfortable, like they were just any other couple enjoying a date night at 'home'.

Ever since their official 'We Time' weekend, the affectionate gestures had steadily increased, both inside and outside of the bedroom. Now, they played footsie under the table at diners; Dean reached across the table at restaurants or bars to brush strands of hair away from Sam's face or to brush away a stray eyelash; they walked down the street even closer to one another than usual, with Dean occasionally walking with a hand placed on Sam's back almost protectively; and Dean also discreetly threw an arm over Sam's shoulder during long drives in the Impala.

Maybe all of this wouldn't seem like much compared to the behaviour of other couples, and it wasn't like they ever talked about it or kept a record of each intimate action, but to Sam, these additional gestures from Dean-who had always faced some kind of internal struggle with the concepts of affection and intimacy-meant everything.

Not long after they finished eating and they cleared the table, Dean got up, yawned and then threw himself onto the nearest bed, stretching out and looking all comfortable and like he might even take a nap.

Sam stayed seated at the table, throwing questioning glances in the direction of the other queen-sized bed in their room (the additional bed being a consequence of this being the last room available for the night at the motel), wondering if Dean wanted the bed closest to the door to himself for a little while.

Sam was cool with it, if that was the case. They were both tired, and they needed their time apart, sometimes. But then Dean stretched his arm out in Sam's direction and muttered, "Come here, Sammy."

Sam actually felt himself blush a little. In spite of all the years he'd spent around Dean, and all the times he and Dean had shared a bed over the past few months, it seemed that lately, Dean had a way of making Sam feel like an awkward teenager with a crush.

Yet the embarrassment was quickly replaced by a rush of happiness when he realized that this meant that Dean wanted to cuddle, or 'indulge Sam's need for touchy-feely crap', as Dean always said.

Sam had been totally addicted to the cuddling ever since their bedtime thing got started, and even now, he still wasn't completely sure which one he loved the most-the cuddling or the sex. Not that he could ever mention this either/or question out loud when Dean was in the same room, because his older brother would call him a chick, and Sam was already well aware that Dean was definitely more of a brag-about-the-sex kind of guy than a brag-about-the-cuddling kind of guy, so Sam always kept quiet.

In a matter of seconds, Sam was heading towards Dean's outstretched hand and climbing onto the bed. Even though Sam was taller than Dean, they ended up with Sam sitting between Dean's legs, with Dean leaning against the pillows on the bed and the two of them pressed up close to one another, with Sam's back against Dean's chest. Finally, Dean wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and he even placed a soft kiss to Sam's neck, with Sam loving every second of the shared affection and trying not to grin or blush too much.

He was partly grinning because their intimate position on the bed definitely confirmed Sam's suspicions that this night-in was mostly about enjoying some 'couple time' without having to deal with other people at bars first, even though Dean would never admit it, but he was also grinning because his position in Dean's arms reminded him of Dean's affectionate gestures when they were kids, when Sam would lean back against Dean and Dean would pull him in close, allowing Sam to feel small and safe and protected, wrapped up in Dean.

He couldn't help feeling smug that nobody else got to do this with Dean now, only him, that Dean only wore Sam's hoodies now, nobody else's.

He was so glad that they'd both decided that they were okay with sharing all of this extra affection in their beds. Maybe their lives were never going to be perfect, but the additional touches and caresses and the general closeness had definitely eased a lot of the previous tension between them, and it made every hunt seem a little easier.

They ended up watching a couple of TV shows while they cuddled up against each other, then Dean let Sam pick a movie to watch, before he leaned over halfway through the movie to grab a bag of popcorn that he must have bought from the local store and then placed by the bed before Sam got out of the bathroom.

Unlike Dean, Sam was already full after their meal (his eating routine wasn't really an ongoing, non-stop, throughout-the-day kind of thing like it seemed to be for Dean), but he could definitely appreciate Dean's groans of appreciation when he chewed on mouthfuls of popcorn, and hey, who was he to refuse the occasional piece of popcorn when Dean was the one feeding it to him?

After they finished the popcorn, Sam was so comfortable in Dean's arms, wearing Dean's hoodie, that he started to drift off into a light sleep, ignoring Dean's smug question of, "Is it nap time, Sammy?"

When he woke up again a little while later, still in his big brother's arms, the first thing that Sam saw as his eyes fluttered open was Dean staring at him with a soft grin and a look that was so affectionate that it would be enough to make anyone melt.

Sam blushed a little again, feeling an intense rush of love for his brother, and he couldn't help leaning in to press a kiss to Dean's lips.

As Dean kissed him back, Sam wondered how he hadn't worked out years ago that this was exactly what he wanted, that this all made perfect sense; he wondered how he'd ever coped without the feel of Dean's body pressed up against his in their motel beds or the feel of Dean's lips on his.

After they reluctantly broke apart, Sam noticed that Dean suddenly looked really nervous about something; he could feel his brother's body tensing up like maybe he had something to say, and an awkward silence quickly descended on the motel room as Sam worried about what was wrong with Dean.

Eventually, Dean placed his left hand over Sam's heart. "Sammy…you…uh…you know, right?" he mumbled gruffly, sounding all embarrassed.

Sam blinked in confusion for a couple seconds, wondering _what_ he was supposed to know, but then Dean pressed his hand more firmly over Sam's heart from over his hoodie and suddenly, Sam worked it out.

This was Dean's awkward, manly version of a declaration of love, no doubt helped along by the fact that Sam was all relaxed and sleepy and their position on the bed meant that they weren't exactly face-to-face.

It was probably the closest that Sam was ever going to get to an 'I-love-you-Sammy' from Dean, but Sam really didn't care. He knew how Dean felt anyway, deep down. He'd known for years how much Dean loved him as a brother, in spite of all of their past conflict, and he'd kind of suspected that a new kind of love was there now, especially when he looked into Dean's eyes every morning when they woke up naked and cuddling on a motel bed, skin-to-skin. But still, there was something incredible about hearing it out loud from Dean-or kind of hearing it out loud, anyway.

"I know, De," Sam whispered, trying not to turn the moment into a major thing, for fear that Dean would panic and run out of the room. After a few tense seconds, he started to feel Dean relaxing against him. "You…uh….you know too, right?" he continued, remembering that this thing between them didn't just go one way and he needed to be brave like Dean now and tell him how he felt, and also worrying that he was now getting as awkward as Dean with the sharing-feelings-stuff.

"Y-yeah?" Dean asked, and Sam could actually sense the doubt and uncertainty in his voice, like Dean might not be fully sure of Sam's love, or like he might have questioned it in the past, might consider it too good to be true, or worse, like he felt like he didn't deserve it.

Sam was sure that his heart broke a little the moment he felt all of that uncertainty in Dean's body language. Maybe Dean's insecurity was based on the fact that Sam had walked out once before, all those years ago, and he still feared that Sam might do it again, might choose somebody else over Dean if the offer of a better way of life came along.

He vowed that he was going to do more to show his love for Dean from now on, not only as a lover but also as a brother, best friend, partner, soulmate, whatever they wanted to call it; he needed to do more to remind Dean that his older brother was his first choice, that there was nobody else, that he wasn't going to leave or try to seek out any kind of life away from Dean. He couldn't, not now that he'd felt what it was like to wake up spooned against Dean, not now that he'd had a taste of those lips on his, not now that he'd had those freckles of Dean's against his own skin and he'd realized that he was never going to fit so perfectly with anybody else.

"Yeah," Sam replied firmly, placing his hand over Dean's so that the two of them were holding hands above Sam's heart.

He knew that really, his heart had belonged to Dean for years, even if he'd been way too scared to even think about that idea in the past.

He knew that Dean was smiling even without turning his head a little to look around. Sam wanted to smile back, he really did, but before he knew it, a couple of tears were starting to fall slowly down his cheeks instead.

The reality of the situation kind of hit him-the fact that he was here, with Dean, happy because they were cuddling and wearing each other's hoodies like a couple and declaring their love for one another, but also fearful that this intense happiness could be taken away from them at any time, that the possibility of losing each other was a daily reality in their line of work, and his mind and body were both kind of overwhelmed with it all.

"No chick-flick moments," he heard Dean sigh automatically, like the whole evening hadn't been one big chick-flick moment.

Yet the sarcastic comment didn't stop Dean from reaching around to wipe the tears away softly.

"Jerk," Sam whispered, finally able to grin again.

"Bitch," Dean replied, giving Sam a soft, affectionate squeeze.

They stayed like that for a little while longer, cuddling and leaning against each other and occasionally allowing their fingers to intertwine.

"You still tired?" Dean eventually asked, now sounding kind of nervous again. "Or you up for a little more 'couple time'?"

Sam rolled his eyes at Dean's typical innuendo and smug smirk and raised eyebrows, but when he thought about it, he was definitely up for 'couple time' tonight with Dean, especially because he kind of really wanted to do something to 'seal the deal' over their recent declarations of love; and, as comfortable as Dean's hoodie was, Sam suddenly couldn't wait to remove it, along with the hoodie that Dean was wearing, as well as their sweatpants.

He kissed Dean to let him know that he was on board with taking things further, impatiently trying to remove Dean's hoodie.

"Couple time, and then bedtime?" Sam eventually asked breathlessly between kisses, hoping that Dean would understand the word 'bedtime' as a code word for 'sleeping close together in this bed all night'.

He knew that it always sounded a little sappy, but Sam liked to make sure that he was going to get the extra affection after sex. Something about post-coital cuddling with Dean made Sam feel relaxed and secure, like one form of contact in bed was just an extension of the other.

Dean sighed a little and rolled his eyes, but he confirmed with a whisper, "Couple time, and then bedtime, Sammy."

Sam could only smirk a little in response before he returned to enthusiastically removing Dean's clothes.

As he thought about couple time and bedtime, he realized that it must be two months exactly since their We Time at the hotel, and he felt a rush of affection for Dean all over again as something told him that this evening was about Dean wanting to acknowledge and celebrate a kind of anniversary between the two of them.

Sam placed a hand over Dean's now-bare chest, right above the heart, and he decided that 'Couple Time' was definitely going to become a regular thing between them, along with their Bedtime.


End file.
